Huckleberries: Whoa there Pilgrim … Take ’er easy on the squash

It’s not every day that you feel betrayed by butternut squash. But David Townsend, communications coordinator of the Coeur d’Alene Library, feels bamboozled after grazing at the swell salad bar at Pilgrim’s Market in Midtown Coeur d’Alene.

David confessed to Facebook followers that he enjoys the fresh greens, carrots, mushrooms, bacon, nuts, black beans, etc., offered by Pilgrim’s. And David appreciates that the natural foods market charges for salad by the weight because you’re “in control when it comes to choices.”

On Wednesday evening, however, David was crafting a masterpiece when he got tricked. Fooled. Buffaloed. Seems he mistook shredded butternut squash for shredded cheddar cheese. “Insidious,” he faux fumed to his friends. Yet, he was troubled that the unexpected butternut scrapings didn’t ruin the salad. “Nonetheless,” he concluded, tongue firmly cheeked. “I feel betrayed.”

And, for some reason, Huckleberries feels like gardening.

Jury duty ambivalence

So I asked my Huckleberry Friends on social media to describe, in a word, how they feel after being dismissed from jury duty for two years. The question was prompted by a recent Huckleberries item in which Kim Brown of Hayden described her reaction to such news as “Woohoo!” Kim has served on a jury before, but she was uber-busy when jury duty came calling this time.

Here’s a sampling of reactions from Huckleberries social media: “Phew” (as in near miss) – Rose Backs of Coeur d’Alene. “Elated” – Kim Cooper AND former county coroner Bob West, both of Coeur d’Alene. “Ambivalent (was it what I was wearing)” – Roberta Larsen of Coeur d’Alene. “Disappointed” – Christa Hazel and LaDonna McCaw Beaumont, both of Coeur d’Alene.

And, finally, in a few more words, Jana Rankin Scharf of Coeur d’Alene explains how she felt after being dismissed last week: “I felt both exhilarated and then guilty for being so happy about it.” Moi? “Woohoo!” with a sprinkling of guilt and ambivalence.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: “Spring has begun./Daylight hours linger./Pushing winter out,/And giving it the finger” – Remember The Bard. (“Sayonara Sucker”) … Favorite Scanner Traffic last week? At 1:15 p.m. Thursday, a 911 dispatcher reported that a 12-year-old boy was stuck in a swing reserved for small children at Sunset Park at 12th Street and Best Avenue. Do you suppose the tween learned his lesson? Neither does Huckleberries … Inflation has hit the missing-tooth business, too. Ask former S-R colleague Julie Titone, now of Everett. She was surprised to learn last week that her “grand girl,” Allie, got $5 for her last lost tooth. Quoth Julie: “A quarter was big money in my day” … Huckleberries has heard that Coeur d’Alene Councilwoman Amy Evans is a lock to seek re-election, while Mayor Steve Widmyer and Councilman Woody McEvers are this close to throwing their respective hats in the ring again. Councilwoman Kiki Miller is leaning toward another run but hasn’t made her mind up.

Parting shot

Last week, Huckleberries told you about the verbal faux pas committed recently by photographer Keith Boe of Post Falls. Keith meant to tell a Seattle hotel employee that he was from Idaho. But it came out “Iowa.” Cis Gors of Kootenai has also been victimized by the “Iowa factor.” When her father died in Rhode Island in 1994, she told the funeral home that she was from Sandpoint, Idaho. But when the obituary came out, it listed Cis as being from “Iowa.” Oh well, if it’s good enough for Professor Harold Hill …